Accidents Vs Incidents: Preventable/Non-Preventable, Reportable/Non-reportable

Without knowing the rest of the story, I'm gonna take a wild guess that involves speed, following a Co worker and not enough braking distance for $500 Alex.

Nope!

Yep, missed it by a mile lol.

Seriously though, sorry to hear about what happened and hopefully it doesn't really wreck your driving career. Some of these specialty type runs really are difficult and put drivers in positions that 99% of truck drivers will never see. Working in the oil and gas patch, some of the roads I encounter will make you want to hang up the keys. You have to be so careful in everything you do and nothing is paved, there's plenty of chances to get stuck, slide on ice or even worse depending on where you're at. It certainly doesn't seem as if you were reckless by any means, just had Murphy in your pocket one too many times. Again, sorry to hear about the incidents and wish you the best.

So my local driving job came to an end. I was 60+ days into my 90 probationary period. I figured that they just exercised their right to terminate me because of bad performance. On paper, they were in their right to do so. I do not hold that against them although I thought I should have been given another chance. There are two other drivers still working there that have turned over their trucks. One of them was almost identical to my accident; the side of the road collapsed.

So, the accident is on my DAC and I believe it is listed as a preventable accident.

I have been turned down a lot of jobs since I lost my job at the end of January. One of them wanted to know if I had ever had any accidents. I told them about the upset. When they discovered the parking lot ding and the gate I had with Melton, they rejected my application. That's where I am wondering what the definition of an incident is to an accident? Other applications say that you are allowed three accidents in a three-year period. Well if all of these are considered accidents, good bye truck driving job.

1. Gate 2. Parking lot ding. 3. Wooden fence post. 4. Truck/trailer rolled.

I am toast.

As an addendum to this story, I filed for unemployment so I could keep paying my bills. The agency involved took about three weeks to approve this since I was fired and not laid off. They said they had to determine if there was misconduct involved that precipitated my discharge. At the end of their investigation, they determined that I would be allowed the benefits. I thought that was a close one.

Well about three weeks later I get a notice in the mail of an appeal hearing. My company was appealing the decision and should they win the appeal, I would have to pay all my unemployment money BACK! How low down can you get? Well I won't bore you with that story. I went through the appeal and my company tried to spin all of the events together to prove misconduct; therefore termination.

They lost the appeal, but I cannot find a company that will hire me. I don't even know if Melton would take me back now.

Papa Johns is hiring.....

I would call up Melton honestly. I get that Mrs. Wilson isn't going to like it but it's better than nothing. I'm not sure about the accident vs incident thing.

Wilson...I admire and your courage and guts for putting this out here for all of us to hopefully learn something from. I have no idea what to say...except if you want to continue driving a CMV , somehow this incident needs to be changed to non-preventable. Not sure how difficult that is or if it's feasible without spending a King's ransom. Also if you haven't already, I would get a copy of the accident report.

Good luck.

I would think difficult but not impossible. I know a guy that fell asleep behind the wheel and ran into a concrete pillar under an overpass at speed and he's still driving a truck. He was fired from his job then, too.

Heading back to Melton and getting a few years accident free might be the ticket to move on from this, if they will take you.

Certainly it will have closed some doors, but if you are vigilant I think you will find another job driving a truck. Best of luck to you.

Yep, missed it by a mile lol.

Seriously though, sorry to hear about what happened and hopefully it doesn't really wreck your driving career. Some of these specialty type runs really are difficult and put drivers in positions that 99% of truck drivers will never see. Working in the oil and gas patch, some of the roads I encounter will make you want to hang up the keys. You have to be so careful in everything you do and nothing is paved, there's plenty of chances to get stuck, slide on ice or even worse depending on where you're at. It certainly doesn't seem as if you were reckless by any means, just had Murphy in your pocket one too many times. Again, sorry to hear about the incidents and wish you the best.

Thanks for listening. I thought of the drivers out in the oil fields and the challenges they face. I guess I don't envy them after all this.

I would call up Melton honestly. I get that Mrs. Wilson isn't going to like it but it's better than nothing. I'm not sure about the accident vs incident thing.

This has crossed my mind and we may even discuss it. I'm not sure it will get any further than that though. Then the question of Melton taking me back after the fence post and the roll over. They may listen to reason, but then again, the insurance industry are the real ones to drive those trains.

Wilson...I admire and your courage and guts for putting this out here for all of us to hopefully learn something from. I have no idea what to say...except if you want to continue driving a CMV , somehow this incident needs to be changed to non-preventable. Not sure how difficult that is or if it's feasible without spending a King's ransom. Also if you haven't already, I would get a copy of the accident report.

Good luck.

Thank you. I hope someone will benefit from this experience even if I do not. I have always tried to learn from others' mistakes. I guess Murphy says it's time for me to "give" so others can learn from my mistakes or misfortunes. I don't want to give up quite yet. I will be researching this whole system to see if I have a snowball's chance of anything. A copy of the accident report is a good idea. I'll get one.

I would think difficult but not impossible. I know a guy that fell asleep behind the wheel and ran into a concrete pillar under an overpass at speed and he's still driving a truck. He was fired from his job then, too.

Heading back to Melton and getting a few years accident free might be the ticket to move on from this, if they will take you.

Certainly it will have closed some doors, but if you are vigilant I think you will find another job driving a truck. Best of luck to you.

If is the key word, along with Mrs. Wilson's blessing, which may be the larger miracle. Like I said, I have tried some companies.... My goal was to get something that gets me home preferably every night, but most certainly every weekend. I found these companies suit the bill:

Florida Rock - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Declined

Southeastern Freight Lines - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Declined

Quality Carriers - Home weekends........... Waiting to see the ruling on the ticket

Container Service Corporation - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Declined

Schilli - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Declined

Blue Rhino Gas - Work three days/off four...... Interviewed and refuse to return phone calls

ASC Federal - Driving a short fuel truck on air base fueling helicopters. $19.75 per hour. 30-38 hours wk...... Declined because of DAC accident

Billy Barnes - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Declined

Saia - Daily deliveries/home weekends....... Won't even call me (they don't advertise a number)

Well I'll just have to keep trying, even though it looks like curtains for me. If anyone else has any words of wisdom or knows how to pull a rabbit out of their hat, let me know....

Wilson, I know you probably never thought you had any fans, but I've been one of yours from way back! I always enjoyed your sense of humor in the forum and I always enjoyed it when you would pop in here unexpectedly with an update. I have been peeking inside of Melton trucks for at least a year and a half trying to see if I could catch you somewhere. I guess I'll quit looking now.

Man, it was painful reading your story! I've really been trying to tell people lately just how tough it is doing these local jobs, and about 95% of the time I feel like it goes in one ear and right out the other. Just the other day we were discussing those "Dollar Store" accounts with someone and I couldn't believe that the guy just kind of blew off what I was trying to say. People just don't realize how they can completely ruin their career by getting into these jobs, and no rookie has even the slightest clue about how difficult these jobs can be. We always tell people to stick with their first job for one year, but if the truth were told you would be much better off getting about three years of Over The Road experience before you try and tackle one of these home nightly trucking jobs. There is a very legitimate reason why they want verifiable experience for these jobs, they are tough, and many times they are career killers.

I had the good pleasure of talking with Mountain Girl on the phone the other day, she knows how tough this stuff is. I completely understand her or anyone else's need to be home each night, but people have got to realize how detrimental a couple of accidents will be to their future if they try doing these local jobs. The odds of you being involved in some kind of mishap go up tremendously when operating a big truck on a local basis.

Thanks for sharing with us, and I certainly wish you the best. I realize that Mrs. Wilson has to give the blessing, but my advice would be to get right on the phone with Melton, tell them what a "Doofus" you were for leaving, and beg and plead for your job back - well, I wouldn't go so far as to grovel or anything like that, but let them know everything that happened and see what they say. Once you get a full year in with them without incident you could have an agreement with the Mrs. that you would then go back to looking for a local job. But this time you go into it with all your radar out and on high alert for anything that might trip you up.

Hang in there, I know you know how to endure, because I witnessed you endure all the time that you considered this at the onset - Hang in there brother, and keep us informed. We are all wanting to see you back behind the wheel.

Hang in there, I know you know how to endure, because I witnessed you endure all the time that you considered this at the onset - Hang in there brother, and keep us informed. We are all wanting to see you back behind the wheel.

Thank you, Old School. You've always been top notch in my book and I had always wanted to meet you out there on the road one day. You are right. I probably did jump too soon (even at 15 months OTR) and had absolutely no idea how hard it would be. And then to get treated worse than chopped liver just added to the whole thing.

Quality Carriers called me and wanted to know how the court verdict was on my ticket. I see this as a sign of hope. The only thing is that my lawyer arbitrarily petitioned for a continuance (which was granted) and now the new court date is the first week of May. He told me that he would check back with me then. So I guess there is a small light at the end of the tunnel. I am tempted to call Melton just to see what they would say even though the probability is about nil of ever getting the local approval for such a move. They treated me so well over there. When contrasted with this outfit that threw me under the bus, Melton is heaven!

I will let you guys know what happens. In light of the answer I got above about the preventable accident, I am putting non-driving resumes out there; I need a job!

They treated me so well over there. When contrasted with this outfit that threw me under the bus, Melton is heaven!

If you were respected at Melton, you probably still are. It's a tough situation when you lack the support of the company you are with, especially if you are new driver looking to stick it out for a year.

I've been through this and it is rough. Keep a positive attitude, work through the challenges, and continue to improve. Safety will improve as long as it is a top priority.

Hang in there!